Guaranteed Income Works: Data from Cambridge, MA
CAMBRIDGE RISE
Mayors for Guaranteed Income, Councillor and former Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui and a wide range of project partners welcomed the release of independent data on the RISE Guaranteed Income Program, showcasing significant improvements in financial stability, food security and measures of parent-child wellbeing, including educational outcomes.
Cambridge RISE was made possible with the dedicated work of a wide range of project partners: Cambridge Community Foundation, City of Cambridge, Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee (CEOC), UpTogether, Just A Start, Cambridge Housing Authority, Mass Law Reform, and the Mass Department of Transitional Assistance. The pilot provided a monthly payment of $500 to 130 families for 18 months, beginning in September 2021. Cambridge residents aged 18 and older were eligible to participate in RISE if they had incomes below 80% of the Area Median Income and were single caregivers with at least one child under the age of 18. Many recipients were also part of the “sandwich generation,” taking care of aging parents and relatives at the same time. Researchers randomly selected 130 participants to receive $500 monthly cash payments for 18 months, and they measured participant impact against a randomized control group of 156 similar residents who did not receive payments.
Key Takeaways
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Researchers found statistically significant differences in full-time employment, with the recipients having increased their employment rate from 36% at baseline to 40% after 12 months, while employment fell amongst the control group from 30% at baseline to 28% one year later. Recipients also had higher rates of part-time and seasonal employment.
On average, recipients of the guaranteed income reported higher incomes and lower income volatility and were better able to cover a $400 emergency expense compared to a control group of similar Cambridge residents who did not receive the direct cash.
Guaranteed income allowed recipients to better fulfill caregiving responsibilities, for children, aging parents and family members with disabilities. Parents were able to give more attention and support to their children, who in turn experienced improved educational outcomes compared to similar families without the direct cash.
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Guaranteed income helped parents better balance paid work, unpaid work, and time with family. Recipients were temporarily freed from the constraints of economic and time scarcity, allowing them to make the deliberate choices around parenting that are key for healthy child development.
Households receiving guaranteed income reported fewer school disciplinary actions (in-school and out-of-school suspensions, expulsions) compared to the control group, as well as fewer instances of absenteeism and truancy.
More children placed in the Advanced Placement classes among the recipient group, and more parents aspired to higher educational achievements for their children, compared to the control group.
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At the outset of the program, both recipients and the control group faced similar rates of being “housing cost burdened”, meaning spending more than 30% of income on housing. Guaranteed income reduced the percentage of recipients who were housing cost burdened, and the small percentage of recipients who were homeless at the outset of the program had obtained housing by 12 months into the program.
There was a general move away from renting and public housing and a potential shift towards more stable and independent status over time. A number of interview respondents were putting aside at least a portion of the guaranteed income towards their eventual plans to buy a home and achieve the American Dream
The Cambridge RISE pilot demonstrated the effectiveness of guaranteed income to remove financial barriers and give participants the freedom to best meet their own needs. Following the RISE pilot, the City of Cambridge scaled its guaranteed income program city-wide–the first in the nation available to everyone who qualifies–to provide $500 direct cash for 18 months to approximately 2,000 families experiencing poverty. This second phase, called Rise Up Cambridge, is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act and is currently in progress.